Friday, May 22, 2015

Like Coconut Water for Malaria (A Video)

I remember when Coconut Water became a thing in The States. Suddenly, you could buy it everywhere, and its benefits were highly touted. Dubbed nature’s Gatorade, this isotonic drink has natural electrolytes, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium. It is said to have anti-ageing, anti-carcinogenic properties, as well as dissolve kidney stones, and contains enzymes that help with digestion and metabolism. Maybe that why in Ghana, Coconut Water has always been a thing. In fact in most cities/towns there is a dedicated coconut seller, with fresh coconuts on a pushcart, ready to hack them open to drink by the side of the road. The only question is hard or soft. This refers to the meat inside, after you have consumed its water. The coconut seller picks a green coconut, whacks it a few times, listening to how the sound resonates, and then selects one based on your preference.

I prefer soft. The coconut meat is gel like and easy to slurp down. But if you’re making coconut crème with a blender, you’ll want hard. The meat is much thicker.

Like Coconut Water for Malaria

In Ghana, Coconut Water is the recommended treatment for Malaria (read our account of it). A glass a day, makes the parasite go away, or something like that. So while she was recovering, I made Suzanne a glass of it everyday. If we lived in, or at least close to, a city/town it would be no problem because coconut sellers are quite common, but we live near a village, and our village generally doesn’t have a coconut seller, which is not to say there are no coconuts, just is no one selling them by the roadside.

Fresh coconuts don’t keep. When I saw them in the next town over, I bought a whole week’s worth, but by the third day, learned coconuts go bad; they were shriveled, and had gone rancid. Rancid coconut=not a nice smell.

This video chronicles a typical trip to the village to find coconuts. At first I thought I would find someone selling them. I asked around until a man said “I have some” which meant he would tell his son to climb a coconut tree and knock some down. I only needed two or three but he knocked down more than twenty. I guess if you’re going to go to the trouble of climbing a tree, you might as well make it worth your while.

Suzanne is all better now. Through prayer and Coconut Water, she has completely recovered from Malaria.